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any takers?

Yeah they basically gave us a choice as well. Weigh the risk of the clot rupturing and causing a stroke or the risk of the blood thinner and hemoraging. My mom had a brain met but it was surgically removed months ago. I just hope that she is not in an extremely dangerous place right now and if she is I don't want to sugar coat it and pretend everything is fine. Can someone who has had this please let me know how you got through it how long it took etc. or if this is eventually fatal please tell me your experience.

So my mom's chemo was going so incredibly well there is even still shrinkage. But she developed a blood clot in the lung and in the upper atrium plus pnemonia.What is happening? Is this the end of the road for her? They are treating her with antibiotics steroids and blood thinner. Do these tend to rupture will she have a stroke? Has anyone ever lived through this?

honestly agencies only help when you are homeless and have 0 income. My mother isn't destitute she just has no apartment. I'm hoping to find her a sublet on craigslist.

Hey guys thanks. I'm totally trying to find something through craigslist or local papers but the search is endless and government agencies etc. have waiting lists 5 years long. Mom's in Manhattan if anybody hears of anything or if you know of a message board with a classified section please let me know. Thanks

So I live in a walk up building (4 flights) and my brother lives out of state so when my mom's lease ends at the end of he month she will have nowhere to go. (She currently rents a room). We have been looking for a place but they all have too many steps or have young roommates. Is there any community message board that would list rooms for rent etc. for people in her condition (Stage 4 nsclc) She is in the middle of chemo and I just want her to be comfortable. This is really hard to deal with.

thanks judy! Yeah, I'm hoping everything goes as they say. The elevated liver count makes me nervous but the doc wasn't too concerned. the chemo is getting rough but as far as we know everything is going well.

Oh and it's NSCLC. I'll have to find out what type of chemo it is my mom has it written down but I do know that I've read about a drug called Tarveca (sp?) on the boards and asked about it but the doc said he was giving her a different drug with similar effects that he considered more effective. I mean, should I be skeptical? She was diagnosed January 2nd went through brain surgery radiation and chemo, she's on oxygen and tons of pills but breathing ok and feels alright. No pnemonia no lung collapse no hair loss few side effects. Is it supposed to spread or something? Does everyone have complications? I know her blood tests had some problem with her liver count but the doc said it was likely a side effect and pursued more chemo anyway. She eats, she walks, in fact she bored out of her mind just sitting there. Is this all short lived?

Hey, Well after brain surgery my mom received 11 days of targeted radiation to the lung. Then after that she started her first day of chemo. When they reviewed her MRI they said that the tumor shrunk between 40-60% and that the effects of the radiation will likely shrink it entirely while the chemo will be preventetive killing all of the hidden cancer in her body that an mri cant see. She is getting the chemo weekly and just finished her second day she is off for a week then continues for I think 2 more. Obviously the doctor doesn't think she is going to go into remission forever, he said that the radiation has been shrinking the only tumor she has left so significantly that by the end of the chemo that tumor should not be apparent which would mean that she has NED. He originally wanted to do another round of chemo for 4 or 6 weeks i cant remember. But he doesn't feel it will be needed because this initial 4 weeks should be enough of a preventative measure. I was there and this is what he's telling me.

hey guys read my new post they canceled the 2nd round of chemo and just want to finish the first. The lymph nodes are clear and the tumor shrunk to less than half it's size!!!! They say she should be NED in the next few weeks and that the 2nd round of chemo wont even be needed! Doc said we caught this just in time to knock it out!!!!!! Thanks everyone I always tell my mom about the survivors here. She went from suicidal to a fully committed fighter. This is incredible.

So my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer with a brain met. She underwent surgery for the brain and removed the small tumor they decided not to do preventative radiation and so far the brain is all clear. They then did radiation on the lung and after that started the first round of chemo planning to do round 2 afterwards. She has only had 1 treatment (her second is today) and the MRI shows an enormous shrink! They are only finishing round 1 as a preventative measure and have canceled round 2 because the dr feels that with the lymph nodes clear and the tumor shrinking at a rapid pace that she will be NED by the end of the 4 weeks. Is this even possible!? With all the stories I've read and statistics out there could she beat this so easily with little side effects???? I can't even believe it. From January 2nd 2008 to now the doctor says we caught it just in time to knock it out. Has anyone ever heard a story like this!?

Thanks, the thing is I know it's important to keep a positive mind set and all of that but I want to be realistic. I'm not sure if he's trying to keep our spirits up or giving us the absolute fact. I'm a more logical person than emotional. I like to know what I'm handling.

So my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 nsclc on jan 2nd she had one brain met which was removed surgically. All went well with that and they are debating brain radiation now. Because she had some trouble breathing and there was slight growth in the lung tumor they did a long round of radiation. Now the doctor is starting chemo next week and he said that the radiation will surely shrink the tumor and infected lymph nodes to a point where we can't see them. He mentioned that there is microscopic disease all over the bloodstream which is what the chemo is meant to kill. Do you think he is just being hopeful that the radiation will work, or is he speaking from a factual place. He said based on her breathing and overall health it is indicated to have worked well. Is it possible that my mom could go from stage 4 with a brain met to NED for a while? Maybe even years? She is feeling well, the radiation had no side effects for her, she's gaining weight and moving around, her voice even sounds clearer. Do the expectations of the dr seem fathomable at this point?

So my mom is stage iv NSCLC. They removed the brain met and are focused now on chemo for the lung tumor. She is currently in patient and was going to be released tomorrow. She had some swelling near her collar bone and a little trouble breathing so they did a new scan. The scan was OK, no new mets. Today she called me and said that they wanted to do radiation on the lung (which they did tonight and will continue for 2 weeks) My question is why??? The Dr. said he would do only chemo for months then evaluate radiation or surgery. Why would they do radiation tonight? Is this a bad sign?

Thanks for your response its so good to hear that your mom is cancer free! For some reason my mom developed swelling on both sides of her collar bone and the scan said nothing was too worrisome though they wont release her as planned. They started radiation to the lung today out of nowhere. Could it be because somethings wrong or are they just covering all the bases??

Spoke with the dr administering the chemo today and although he talked about a lot of hopeful stories it seems that he was focused on prolonging life more than curing the disease. He said not to focus on statistics but that patients who lived for years after stage 4 were a "minority" the average people he treats live about 10 months. Of course this was after I prodded for a while. The nature of the disease is to met to other organs and although he agreed this was a precocious met as you guys mentioned, but it seemed like he didn't want to get my hopes up. It's just the most awful disease.

Thanks everybody. I had never heard of a precocious met before but since there is no lymph node involvement it sounds like it does apply. The tumor in the lung was described as "large" though I dont have the exact cm. I know the brain was quite small (around 2) and it was right on the surface. they did scans and all the cancer is gone in the brain then the chest xray revealed that the tumor in the lung is still exactly the same size. I really hope the operation is possible. I know they will do targeted preventative radiation to the spot they removed. I just hope it all goes ok.

But are there ever people who just get rid of both tumors and live with NED for a while or is it just the nature of the disease to constantly met to the brain spine or liver? Compared to everyone else that sounds like it would be an easy fight which apparently doesn't exist.

Thanks for the responses! when I read about the survivors its really encouraging. I see so many people get NED then a new met months or years later. I guess it has to be a way of life even after you feel like you've beat it. But I'm hoping there are no treatment complications or anything. So far no clots or fluid, no real symptoms (besides short breath & neck/back pain)so maybe all this is a good sign. My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago and died in 6 weeks. So I'm kind of new at the whole fight for remission thing because it wasn't possible there. So I guess the NSCLC diagnoses is a good thing because it's possibly operable. I really want that operation more than anything because I know it's her best chance at surviving! Hopefully the chemo will work!! It seems like this is my full time job with mass overtime. It's just the worst feeling, like you're waiting for something horrible to happen any minute.

I posted in the small cell forum because my mom had told me that is what she had but apparently (she never writes anything down or remembers) she actually was diagnosed with stage 4 nsclc. I have been researching the other so it was a little daunting to know that I had little info on this. Is NSCLC more promising in terms of recovery? I know it doesn't tend to spread as quickly. She was diagnosed a month ago with a large tumor in the right lung (told inoperable) and a small brain Met. Two days ago she brain met was surgically removed and she is doing very well. Now the dr administering chemo is saying we may be able to operate on the lung once it shrinks and the surgeon even met with her to talk about it. She had an mri today i guess we will have to see if thats clear but it looks like everything is ok and they said they got the brain tumor completely but will do targeted radiation to make sure its not coming back. Is it possible for your stage to regress. For instance she was stage 4 with the met, does this make her stage 3? This has become my full time obsession so you'll have to forgive me long rant. Any survivors out there or anyone with info on the SCLC and NSCLC differences?

Thanks to everyone who responded so far. It just seems so crazy to me the way it spreads and spreads. I'm just in week three and nothing new has come up yet. The surgery went really well she is awake and attentive. They said they will do some targeted radiation after and start chemo in ten days. Is there just no chance at all that we remove the brain met do the chemo and the tumor shrinks? It seems like a constant battle.

thanks everyone. It's hard to get straight answers or seek advice from people around me as they have not gone through anything like this. I lost my dad 4 years ago to cancer and it was very quick. I'm hoping my mom can beat this but her spirits really aren't good. I just hope she gets through the brain surgery tomorrow. I have to be there in 4 hours and can't even get to sleep. I wish it was over.

My mom is undergoing surgery for her brain met tomorrow and go figure I can't sleep. She can't get over the statistics and feels like she's fighting a losing battle. So I wanted to give her some encouraging stories while she recoups and starts chemo. Has anyone gone into remission, survived an extended period or have any hopeful stories I can share with her?

Hi, My mom was diagnosed a month ago with stage IV sclc. The tumor in her lung is large but the brain met is only 2cm and very close to the surface. They want to operate and will be doing the surgery in the next few days. They said it should be a simple sugery with little risk of damage. When you get rid of the met does your stage change? If she receives chemo for the original tumor is it possible for her to become cancer free? I understand SC responds very well to chemo. I have read some horror stories on a bunch of boards am I looking at less than a year? The way I see it is if you remove the met and then shrink the lung couldn't there be hope?